Mississippi State News

Mississippi #2, Louisiana #3 for states with highest STD rates

MISSISSIPPI (WXXV) — New data has been released on the amount of reported sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its latest STD Surveillance Report and Innerbody.com's research…

Mississippi: Wide search for new leader of troubled prisons

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is looking nationwide for a new prisons director. The state's prisons are reckoning with a recent outburst of violence that left five inmates dead and others injured, along with…

Home Rule Rally 2020

The Mississippi Municipal League held their annual Home Rule Rally today at the state capitol. Over 100 mayors and city council members from all over the state held the rally to encourage legislature not to infringe on local authority to…

Lawsuit says Mississippi prisons are 'plagued by violence'

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — More than two dozen Mississippi inmates are suing the state. The lawsuit filed Tuesday says the state's understaffed prisons are “plagued by violence.” In a separate development, federal authorities on…

Tate Reeves sworn in as 65th governor

Mississippi has officially sworn in its 65th governor. Tate Reeves took his oath of office Tuesday morning at the state capitol in Jackson, surrounded by his family and lawmakers. Reeves has been lieutenant governor for the state over the past…

New quarters with cool designs are coming

You may have to do a double take the next time you get some change. The Federal Reserve is launching five brand new quarters each featuring a different design on the back, honoring a different national park or historic site.…

Concerns mount for inmate civil rights

The families of some of the inmates in Mississippi prisons continue to demand answers from the federal government about civil right violations and living conditions for inmates. Yesterday, demonstrators rallied for prisoner rights outside the state capitol in Jackson. Concerns…

Mississippi man convicted in crash that killed firefighters

By Associated Press SUMRALL, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man has pleaded guilty to three counts of felony DUI after initially being indicted on charges he left the scene of a crash that killed two volunteer firefighters. News outlets reported…

2 men accused of gluing winning numbers onto lotto ticket

By Associated Press FLOWOOD, Miss. (AP) — Authorities in Mississippi say two men attempted to scam the state lottery commission by submitting a losing ticket that had the winning numbers glued onto it. News outlets report 47-year-old Odis Latham and…

Legal group seeks federal inquiry into Mississippi prisons

By JEFF AMY and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Prisoner advocates are calling on the federal government to investigate Mississippi’s prison system for possible civil rights violations. They say five deaths in recent days highlights deliberate…

2020 Legislative Session: Impacting the Coast

Here on the Coast, residents are keeping an eye on bills that could impact our area including infrastructure, reconstructive project funding from the Bonnet Carre Spillway opening, the allocation of millions of dollars from the BP Oil Spill settlement and…

Foretold 'uprising' hits cash-starved Mississippi prisons

By JEFF AMY and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Prison officials in Mississippi long ago warned that they needed money to hire more guards and pay them better or else the state's prison system could experience…

Mississippi Medicaid director staying in new administration

By Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The incoming governor of Mississippi says he will keep the state's Medicaid director. Republican Tate Reeves made the announcement Monday. Drew Snyder has been in charge of Medicaid for the past two years…